1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display, an optical compensatory sheet which is useful for preparing the liquid crystal display, a process for preparation of the optical compensatory sheet, a liquid crystalline composition which is useful as material for the optical compensatory sheet and a compound which is useful for the liquid crystalline composition.
2. Description of Prior Art
As a display for electronic office system-devices such as a desk-top personal computer and a word processor, CRT (cathode ray tube) has been employed so far. Recently, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as LCD) is widely employed instead of the CRT because of its thin thickness, light weight and low power consumption. LCD generally has a structure that a liquid crystal cell is disposed between a pair of polarizing sheets. Most of LCD use a twisted nematic liquid crystal. Operational mode of LCD using the twisted nematic liquid crystal is roughly divided into birefringence mode and optical rotatory mode.
A super twisted nematic liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as STN-LCD) utilizing the birefringence mode uses a super twisted nematic liquid crystal showing a twisted angle of more than 90 degrees and having steep electro-optical characteristics. Such STN-LCD, therefore, has an advantage of giving display of a large volume by driving in time-sharing mode. However, the STN-LCD has disadvantages such as slow response (such as several hundred milliseconds) and difficulty in giving satisfactory gradation on display, and therefore its display characteristics are relatively poor, as compared with display characteristics of a liquid crystal display using the known active-type elements (e.g., TFT-LCD and MIM-LCD).
In the TFT-LCD and MIM-LCD, twisted nematic liquid crystal showing a twisted angle of 90 degrees and having positive birefringence is employed for displaying an image. This is called LCD of an optically rotary mode (i.e., TN-LCD). TN-LCD display mode shows rapid response (such as several tens of milliseconds) and high display contrast, and easily gives black-white display of high contrast. Hence, the optical rotatory mode has a number of advantages compared with the birefringence mode or other modes. However, TN-LCD has disadvantages that color or contrast on display varies depending upon viewing angle to a liquid crystal display, and its display characteristics are not comparable to display characteristics of CRT.
In order to improve the viewing angle characteristics (i.e. to enlarge the viewable angle), arrangement of a phase difference film (optical compensatory sheet) between a pair of polarizing plates and TN liquid crystal cell has been proposed by Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 4(1992)-229828 and No. 4(1992)-258923.
The optical compensatory sheets proposed in these Publications show no optical effect when a liquid crystal display is seen from the direction vertical to a screen of the display because phase difference in the direction perpendicular to a surface of the liquid crystal display is almost zero. However, the optical compensatory sheet serves for compensation of phase difference (depending upon wavelengths of light) that occurs when the liquid crystal display is viewed from an oblique direction. The phase difference results in unfavorable viewing angle characteristics such as coloring and disappearance of displayed image.
It is known that the optical compensatory sheet is needed to have negative birefringenece for compensating positive birefringence of twisted nematic liquid crystal and an inclined optic axis.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 4(1992)-113301, No. 5(1993)-80323 and No. 5(1993)-157913 disclose an optical compensatory sheet having the negative birefringence and inclined optic axis. In more detail, the disclosed sheet is made of polymer having a polymer chain whose optic axis or an optical elastic axis is inclined from a surface of a liquid crystal cell, and is prepared by slicing obliquely a uniaxial polycarbonate film. Therefore an optical compensatory sheet of a large area cannot be easily prepared according to the disclosed process.
It is also known that an optical compensatory sheet comprising a liquid crystalline polymer. For instance, Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 3(1991)-9326 and No. 3(1991)-291601 disclose an optical compensatory sheet for LCD which is prepared by coating a solution of a polymer showing liquid crystal property on an orientation layer provided on a support film. However, the polymer showing liquid crystal property is not satisfactorily oriented on the orientation layer. Further, the polymer does not generally show negative birefringence. Hence, the resulting compensatory sheet scarcely enlarges the viewing angle from all directions.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 5(1993-)-215921 discloses the use of a birefringence plate (optical compensatory sheet) comprising a support and a polymerizable lod-like compound showing liquid crystal property and positive birefringence. The birefringence plate is prepared by coating a solution of the compound on the support and curing the compound under heating. However, the cured layer dose not show negative birefringence. Hence, the resulting compensatory sheet scarcely enlarges the viewing angle from all directions.